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Tips for Working With Interpreters in the Emergency Department

By Marc Cassone, DO | on October 9, 2023 | 0 Comment
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Clinical Case Resolution

You decide to call in the interpreter and find out the patient was actually telling you that she was pregnant (and not embarrassed) and had heavy first-trimester bleeding. After the appropriate work-up, you are glad to have had the medical interpreter present to appropriately communicate the nuances of a threatened abortion and address your patient’s concerns in her primary language.

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ACEP Now: Vol 42 – No 10 – October 2023

Dr. Cassone is an attending physician based in northern New York and has worked in several multicultural contexts, including Native American reservations and with Médecins Sans Frontières.

References

  1. Divi C, Koss R, Schmaltz S, Loeb J. Int J Qual Health Care. 2007;19(2):60-7.
  2. Surinder S. Medical translation gone wrong: 7 devastating medical translation errors. K-International/TheLanguage Blog website. Published Feb 8, 2018. Accessed August 11, 2023.
  3. Office of Civil Rights. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website. Last reviewed February 3, 2023.
  4. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, et al. Nondiscrimination in health programs and activities: a proposed rule by the centers for medicare & medicaid services on 08/04/2022. Federal Register website. Published August 4, 2022. Accessed August 11, 2023.
  5. Ginde A, Sullivan A, Corel B, at al. Reevaluation of the effect of mandatory interpreter legislation on use of professional interpreters for ED patients with language barriers. Patient Educ Couns. 2010;1(2):204-6.
  6. Benda NC, Bisantz AM, Butler R, et al. The active role of interpreters in medical discourse – An observational study in emergency medicine. Patient Education and Counseling. 2022;105(1):62-73.
  7. Balch, B. The United States needs more Spanish-speaking physicians. American Association of Medical Colleges website. Published July 18, 2023. Accessed July 18, 2023.
  8. Flores G, Abreu M, Barrone CP, et al. Errors of medical interpretation and their potential clinical consequences: a comparison of professional versus ad hoc versus no interpreters. Annals of EM. 2012; 60(5): 545-553.
  9. Regenstein M, Anders E, Wynia MK. Promoting appropriate use of physicians’ non-English language skills in clinical care: A white paper of the Commission to End Health Care Disparities with recommendations for policymakers, organizations and clinicians. American Medical Association, Chicago IL 2013.
  10. Kreger V, Aintablian H, Diamond L, et al. Google translate as a tool for emergency department discharge instructions? Not so fast! Annals of EM. 2019;74(4):S5-6.
  11. Taira RB, Kreger V, Orue A, Diamond L. A pragmatic assessment of Google Translate for emergency department instructions. J Gen Intern Med. 2021;36:3361-3365.

Pages: 1 2 3 | Single Page

Topics: interpreterPatient Communication

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